British Prime Minister Theresa May speaking in parliament on Thursday.

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Reuters/London

Prime Minister Theresa May said on Thursday terrorism would not prevail as she rallied the country to carry on with its everyday business and stick to British values in response to an attack on parliament.

"At this time it is so important that we show that it is our values that will prevail, that the terrorists will not win, that we will go about our lives showing that unity of purpose and the values that we share as one nation going forward and ensuring that the terrorists will be defeated," she told parliament.

May said the man who launched Wednesday's attack at parliament was born in Britain and known to the intelligence services.

"What I can confirm is that the man was British-born and that some years ago he was once investigated by MI5 in relation to concerns about violent extremism," she told lawmakers.
"He was a peripheral figure," she added. "The case is historic, he was not part of the current intelligence picture."
She said there had been no prior intelligence of his intent nor of the plot.